Am I Crazy? Cheers for 2 only one drinker!

[CruiseJB]

I have decided to get the cheers package for our upcoming 8 night cruise.  My husband is a non drinker. 

 

Has anyone gotten cheers for two when one doesn't drink?  If so did you feel you came close to breaking even? Or was the peace of mind having drinks already budgeted and paid for worth it?

 

I do not want to worry about keeping track of my budget.   I want to try some new drinks and don't want to feel wasteful if I don't like something.  I also love specialty coffees and mineral waters.

 

My husband does drink a little soda and would also drink some shakes and maybe a Powerade or two.

 

So am I Crazy?  I am thinking with his non alcohol beverages, if I request high end pours in my cocktails, coffees, sparkling waters in the mdr and bottled water through out each day I may come close to breaking even or within at least a couple hundred dollars.  Up to $200 seems reasonable to me for peace of mind.

[BNBR]

It really depends on how many drinks you average each day.  If you aren't going to have 10+ drinks a day, every day, then I don't see this working in your favor.

 

We have an upcoming 12 night cruise and it'll be my first without a drink package in a decade.  I am with you on the worry free prepaid aspect of the drink package.  But to deal with that, I did the math and budgeted for 5 drinks a day.  Mentally ok with $50/day knowing many days I won't even hit that, and come out way ahead.  So if you only have 4 or 5 drinks a day, figure $50+ daily budget and put that money aside.  Can also add to your shipboard account.

Edited December 6, 2019 by BNBR

[pjhootch]

Yes. 🙂.  

 

But not in a bad way.   You will feel wasteful when you are onboard and realize how far from breaking even you are.  You will spend far less money on you bar tab than on cheers for 2. Take the $800 and buy gift certificates and add them to your on board account to pay for your drinks.  That way you do not have a surprise at the end, you can still relax because your drinks are paid for ahead of time, and you will not waste $$ paying for drinks that no one drinks.

[cruisingguy007]

I met a couple at the casino bar on our last cruise who did just that. The wife was mostly puffing from a "special" vapor pen (😉) but would have a couple 2-3 drinks throughout the entire day/night. The husband made up for her drinks as well and never ran out or hit 15. He had the golden pass..lol. I must admit I was a little peeved at the Mrs. for retiring earlier with lots of drinks left on her cheers every night. I wanted a golden 30-drink pass too! 🤣

 

 Bar staff really don't care what you do with the drink as long as the person with the cheers package orders it and receives it. He even ordered drinks for couple other people we ended up chatting up (he asked what they'd like and have the wife order it, then give it to them). Not sure it was worth it (money wise) for them in the end but the husband was happy about it! My wife never came close to 15 (I only hit it twice myself) but it is still worth it for us. Plus if you don't like a drink, you don't have to worry about tossing it and getting something else. I'd still do the math though because a soda package for hubby with a la carte for you may be cheaper, especially if you have a lot of excursions and port itineraries.

 

You would need to have 10 alcoholic drinks and some coffee and waters to break even. Or just 12 alcoholic drinks, that's everyday mind you. Most people can't sustain that over a long run and the last morning you also have to get up early to be out of your room so you can't overindulge the night before. I like to subtract a day when doing my calculations for that. So a 8 day (in your case) is really 7 possible drinking nights. It's a simple math problem really.     

Edited December 6, 2019 by cruisingguy007

[lmb84]

Ya...NO....You will NOT GET your monies worth unless you can really pound them back EVERYDAY....and 12 alcoholic drinks a day is JUST TO BREAK EVEN!

I've done the CHEERS PKG...for 8 of my 12 cruises.  I passed on getting it back in May...My bar bill at the end of the 8 day cruise was $250.00 (but I also had free drinks while playing in the casino)...so I wouldn't pay $800.00 when you are the only drinker....P.S.  I also realized that having the Cheers Pkg made me drink a lot more than I would normally drink...because I wanted to make sure that I at least got my money back....

 

Edited December 6, 2019 by lmb84

[neverbeenhere]

Start every day with three bellinis and see where it goes from there. 

[jimbo5544]

11 hours ago, BNBR said:

It really depends on how many drinks you average each day.  If you aren't going to have 10+ drinks a day, every day, then I don't see this working in your favor.

 

We have an upcoming 12 night cruise and it'll be my first without a drink package in a decade.  I am with you on the worry free prepaid aspect of the drink package.  But to deal with that, I did the math and budgeted for 5 drinks a day.  Mentally ok with $50/day knowing many days I won't even hit that, and come out way ahead.  So if you only have 4 or 5 drinks a day, figure $50+ daily budget and put that money aside.  Can also add to your shipboard account.

Journey cruise?

[jimbo5544]

10 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

Start every day with three bellinis and see where it goes from there. 

Downhill?

[jimbo5544]

10 hours ago, lmb84 said:

Ya...NO....You will NOT GET your monies worth unless you can really pound them back EVERYDAY....and 12 alcoholic drinks a day is JUST TO BREAK EVEN!

I've done the CHEERS PKG...for 8 of my 12 cruises.  I passed on getting it back in May...My bar bill at the end of the 8 day cruise was $250.00 (but I also had free drinks while playing in the casino)...so I wouldn't pay $800.00 when you are the only drinker....P.S.  I also realized that having the Cheers Pkg made me drink a lot more than I would normally drink...because I wanted to make sure that I at least got my money back....

 

Isn’t getting your monies worth just drinking what you want, not getting to the daily cheers price limit?  Think your math is questionable on the number of drinks needed to get to the “target” amount as well.

[thesmiths]

Because of medications my wife can't drink.

So Cheers is out for us.

This is what we do.

 

Order a few 12 packs of water to the cabin.

 

Preorder a bottle (Rum) for the cabin, bring on a 12 pack of soda.

 

Buy a few drinks of your choice when out and about.

 

If you need another bottle midweek call room service.

If you need more soda get it at a port and bring back on.

 

Wifey drinks a few milkshakes a week.

I'll get a Gatoraide a few times to replenish the body.

Far less then 2 of us purchasing cheers.

 

 

Edited December 6, 2019 by thesmiths

[naxer]

Not crazy, but if you think about it, there might be a less expensive way to achieve what you want, if a less expensive way is appealing enough to you.    

[PhillyFan33579]

As others have stated, it all depends on how much you drink every day. If my wife didn’t drink, I would never buy Cheers on an 8 day cruise. But what wouldn’t work for us financially may work well for you. 

[nissach]

Personally, I would just buy the drinks I wanted each day.  Unless you are a big drinker, I do not personally think you will come out ahead with buying Cheers.  As other shave said, you would need to buy 10+ drink every day, even on port days.  But that being said, it is your vacation and do what ever you think will make your vacation the most enjoyable! 

[purplephenom]

Do you or your husband like the Gold Peak teas?  Or the Starbucks frappachinos?  Those are included after the switch over to Pepsi.  Do you both drink a ton of bottled water? Do you want to start your day with coffee from the coffee shop?  Would your husband drink virgin drinks?  

 

I think it would be difficult to break even, but not impossible- there are a lot of non alcoholic drinks that aren't free.  Why not find one of the drink spreadsheets, add in what you think you'd drink, and see where that puts you.  I'm not a huge drinker but I love those teas and bottled starbucks drinks.  If they weren't so sugary, I'd happily drink those all day long (but then I'd be bouncing off the walls so I'm not going to)   

 

If you find Cheers doesn't make sense for you, you can always buy discounted Carnival gift cards in various ways online, and then use those to buy Cruise Cash.  The Cruise Cash is on your account when you board, so you don't start your trip with a visit to guest services.  And you can cash out the leftovers in the casino.  

[ray98]

I don't drink all day but I do enjoy my share of cocktails on the ship and have hit my limit a few times over the years.  That being said I do not think I would do Cheers for both with only one drinking.  I don't think it would make financial sense.

[ricew001]

Um there's this spreadsheet you can use to calculate......

Carnival Beverage Package Evaluator (2).xls

[Joebucks]

I argue most of the time, most people would be overpaying on Cheers for 2 people @ $960.

 

I'm sorry, but to me, it makes no sense to not want to feel "wasteful" and worry about a "budget" for $960 in drinks. That is the epitome of waste.

[dlphn501]

14 hours ago, CruiseJB said:

Has anyone gotten cheers for two when one doesn't drink?  If so did you feel you came close to breaking even? Or was the peace of mind having drinks already budgeted and paid for worth it?

 

I have this same dilemma right now.  I am cruising with my sister in March, and she doesn't drink.  I was considering Cheers anyway and just paying for her package.  I am a big drinker, especially on cruises, and being that we are only on a 4-day, I could easily break even with 12 beers per day, every day, if not more.  I usually come close to my 15 limit on short sailings.  I also like the specialty coffees (espresso drinks, not a coffee fan) and milkshakes, but only because they are "free" with Cheers.  I don't have to order them.  That being said, I don't think I am going to do it.  I will bring our allowed 2-12 packs of diet soda and just drink that in the morning/early afternoon like I do at home on weekends.  And tons of bottled water that I'll have delivered to the room beforehand for $4.50/12 pack.  Then I'll just buy a bucket or 2 during the later afternoon and evening and probably end up drinking less.  Like another person said, I usually drink more on Cheers than had I not had it.

[Sparky2]

1 hour ago, purplephenom said:

Do you or your husband like the Gold Peak teas?  Or the Starbucks frappachinos?  Those are included after the switch over to Pepsi.  Do you both drink a ton of bottled water? Do you want to start your day with coffee from the coffee shop?  Would your husband drink virgin drinks?  

 

I think it would be difficult to break even, but not impossible- there are a lot of non alcoholic drinks that aren't free.  Why not find one of the drink spreadsheets, add in what you think you'd drink, and see where that puts you.  I'm not a huge drinker but I love those teas and bottled starbucks drinks.  If they weren't so sugary, I'd happily drink those all day long (but then I'd be bouncing off the walls so I'm not going to)   

 

If you find Cheers doesn't make sense for you, you can always buy discounted Carnival gift cards in various ways online, and then use those to buy Cruise Cash.  The Cruise Cash is on your account when you board, so you don't start your trip with a visit to guest services.  And you can cash out the leftovers in the casino.  

 

Or just apply the GCs to your S&S account.

[sparks1093]

26 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

I argue most of the time, most people would be overpaying on Cheers for 2 people @ $960.

 

I'm sorry, but to me, it makes no sense to not want to feel "wasteful" and worry about a "budget" for $960 in drinks. That is the epitome of waste.

But this is what the marketers hope for and where cruise lines make their money from the drink packages.

 

OP if it were me I'd set a budget for the amount of the two packages and I'd likely not use it all. 

[nissach]

2 hours ago, purplephenom said:

Do you or your husband like the Gold Peak teas?  Or the Starbucks frappachinos?  Those are included after the switch over to Pepsi.  Do you both drink a ton of bottled water? Do you want to start your day with coffee from the coffee shop?  Would your husband drink virgin drinks?  

 

I think it would be difficult to break even, but not impossible- there are a lot of non alcoholic drinks that aren't free.  Why not find one of the drink spreadsheets, add in what you think you'd drink, and see where that puts you.  I'm not a huge drinker but I love those teas and bottled starbucks drinks.  If they weren't so sugary, I'd happily drink those all day long (but then I'd be bouncing off the walls so I'm not going to)   

 

If you find Cheers doesn't make sense for you, you can always buy discounted Carnival gift cards in various ways online, and then use those to buy Cruise Cash.  The Cruise Cash is on your account when you board, so you don't start your trip with a visit to guest services.  And you can cash out the leftovers in the casino.  

Just curious as to where one might find discounted GC online?

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

16 hours ago, CruiseJB said:

I have decided to get the cheers package for our upcoming 8 night cruise.  My husband is a non drinker. 

 

Has anyone gotten cheers for two when one doesn't drink?  If so did you feel you came close to breaking even? Or was the peace of mind having drinks already budgeted and paid for worth it?

 

I do not want to worry about keeping track of my budget.   I want to try some new drinks and don't want to feel wasteful if I don't like something.  I also love specialty coffees and mineral waters.

 

My husband does drink a little soda and would also drink some shakes and maybe a Powerade or two.

 

So am I Crazy?  I am thinking with his non alcohol beverages, if I request high end pours in my cocktails, coffees, sparkling waters in the mdr and bottled water through out each day I may come close to breaking even or within at least a couple hundred dollars.  Up to $200 seems reasonable to me for peace of mind.

I would think you can understand there point of view. Not wanting to get ripped off. Must be the same for everyone. My wife does not drink, so we are in the same boat. I get the soda package. If I want a special drink, I buy it. If I want a rum and code. I buy the rum, no need to purchase the rum and coke or whatever. usually you can get buy BOGO for a shot. They give you a big glass for the soda so that is what I buy. A lot less expensive than the rum and coke and twice the size.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

BTY If you get a nice bartender like I did you actually end up with about 3-4 shots in you glass. While pouring the shots he never lifts the bottle,  just dumps the shots while the rum is flowing out of it. never spend anywhere near what the drink package would have cost even if it was only for one. Guess it pays if you are a heavy drinker.

[MT_Sea_Cruisers]

Tip - Keep in mind that if you frequent the casino you might earn free drinks in the casino during your cruise.  

 

 

[cruizergal70]

Help me out here. If you have the money to pony up $800 plus on a drink package, why do you think you have to worry about budgeting your drinks if you don't get the package? You already have the $800 ready and available to spend.